Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana and tennis star Rohan Bopanna were given the Arjuna Award by Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. Bopanna received this honour as he won the gold medal during the Asian Games in 2018, in tennis men's double category. On the other hand, Mandhana was the ICC Women's Player of the Year 2018. Last year she has scored 669 runs in 12 ODIs and 622 runs in 25 T20Is. After receiving the award, Rohan Bopanna said, “It is an amazing feeling to hold the award. Definitely, I would have loved to receive it from the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, along with other athletes and achievers. But that does not take anything away from the thrill of receiving it. He is such a big tennis fan and has been watching tennis for a long time. We spoke for nearly 45 minutes and it was very positive. He also talked about following women’s cricket, as Smriti Mandhana also got the award today.” The players were supposed to receive the awards in 2018, but they missed the ceremony as both Mandhana and Bopanna were participating in international tournaments. Kiren Rijju spoke with reporters said, "Today I gave awards to Bopanna and Mandhana as they missed during the award distribution ceremony last year due to their international events." (Photos: Instagram)

Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana and tennis star Rohan Bopanna were given the Arjuna Award by Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. Bopanna received this honour as he won the gold medal during the Asian Games in 2018, in tennis men's double category. On the other hand, Mandhana was the ICC Women's Player of the Year 2018. Last year she has scored 669 runs in 12 ODIs and 622 runs in 25 T20Is. After receiving the award, Rohan Bopanna said, “It is an amazing feeling to hold the award. Definitely, I would have loved to receive it from the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, along with other athletes and achievers. But that does not take anything away from the thrill of receiving it. He is such a big tennis fan and has been watching tennis for a long time. We spoke for nearly 45 minutes and it was very positive. He also talked about following women’s cricket, as Smriti Mandhana also got the award today.” The players were supposed to receive the awards in 2018, but they missed the ceremony as both Mandhana and Bopanna were participating in international tournaments. Kiren Rijju spoke with reporters said, "Today I gave awards to Bopanna and Mandhana as they missed during the award distribution ceremony last year due to their international events." (Photos: Instagram) Read Less